Wegmans Smooth Gravy Secrets

We've gotten a ton of questions on how to make gravy
and today I'm gonna show you how to make turkey gravy.
But, the process is really gonna be the same
for any sort of roast that you're making.
What I have here is all the drippings leftover
from a perfectly roasted turkey
and that's gonna be the foundation for my gravy.
Every turkey's different so you'll never know
exactly how much liquid you're gonna get off the end
and that's why I really like this "recipe"
and I put it in quotes because this is real cooking to me.
This is more about feel and what it's gonna look like.
So, we're gonna get started.
I've got it on the burner
and I've got it up to a nice simmer.
And all I have here is some all purpose flour
and what I'm looking for here is consistency.
00:00:36.010,00:00:37.053 Okay, so I'm gonna
go ahead
00:00:37.053,00:00:42.037 and I'm gonna sprinkle
my flour in there
and then I'm gonna whisk it up.
Definitely want to have a whisk for this
just to scrape up those brown bits on the bottom.
Okay, and you can see how it's already tightening up.
And then I want to make sure
that my flour is beautifully incorporated.
And you can see it's already starting
to thicken up almost immediately.
And again, everybody's got a different idea of sort of
what's the right consistency for gravy.
Some people like it thicker.
Some people like it more of like a sauce consistency.
So it's really up to you
as to how thick or how thin you want it.
So, I'm gonna go ahead and take a look at this.
And I'm gonna--I want this to be just a little bit thicker,
for the way that I like gravy.
So, I'm gonna go ahead, while this is simmering
and I'm add just a touch more flour
and I just want to sprinkle it over the top.
That'll help, along with the whisk, from it getting lumpy.
I think that's one of the complaints that we get a lot
of people say, "Well my gravy's lumpy, my gravy's lumpy."
I'm gonna show you exactly how to make it not lumpy.
The whisk is the first part you want to do and you
really want to, after you add flour to something like this,
you really want to make sure that
you get it up to a nice simmer.
You want to cook that flour, cause you can actually taste
sort of a raw starchy flavor
if your flour's not perfectly cooked.
So, I'm gonna go ahead and just turn this up
just a little bit.
Make sure my flour's had a chance
and you can see, look at the beautiful color.
It smells exactly like roasted turkey.
And what happens, that flour also almost
helps everything emulsify.
Because there is a fair amount of fat in the pan
along with the turkey drippings and that flour's really gonna
bind everything together so we get a nice smooth consistency.
And you can see that consistency that we've got right there.
It's almost exactly what I'm looking for,
but I'm still gonna go ahead and I'm gonna
add just a touch more flour, just so it gets
a little bit thicker 'cause I'm gonna fortify this
with a little bit of chicken stock.
Gravy's one of those things that freezes unbelievably well.
So, it's something that you really can't have too much of.
And I think, always, when it comes to leftovers,
particularly for something like Thanksgiving,
gravy's one of the first things that you don't have
when you're going to eat the leftovers.
So, to have too much gravy, certainly, there's no problem.
And this is the consistency that I'm looking for.
Kay, you can see that, I run my whisk through it.
It almost holds for a minute and that's what I want.
So, at this point, I'm gonna go ahead
and I'm just gonna thin it out ever so slightly.
I've got some culinary stock here,
chicken stock, chicken broth works just as well.
And again, that's gonna lighten up my color a little bit.
I'm whisking, okay, and you can see how it's thickening up nice.
Okay, that flour is really starting to do its job.
And this is all about feel guys.
Just take a look and look at what consistency you want to.
Just make sure you've got it at a simmer the whole time.
Okay, don't be afraid to get
into the corners with that whisk, okay?
And you just keep adding stock
until you've got the consistency that you're look for and that's
why I say, "This is really cooking from the heart."
And you know, if you apply this rule
to your everyday cooking you're gonna have a lot of success.
'Cause a lot of it is more about what it looks like
and what it feels like to you.
Um, and it's a lot of things you can't tell by looking.
You gotta feel it a little bit
and that's what I love about making gravy.
And again, this could just as easily be a leg of lamb.
It could be a roast beef, the same process.
A little bit of flour in the pan to tighten it up
with the drippings and then use the appropriate stock.
So, if I was doing lamb, I could use either chicken
or I could use beef stock.
If I'm doing a roast beef,
obviously I want to have beef stock.
But, it's the same process for any sort
of pan gravy that you're making.
I'm just gonna let this simmer.
Come back up to a simmer real quick.
Make sure I've got all those nice brown bits
on the bottom of the pan.
And then we'll talk about lumpy gravy.
Okay, because we're not gonna have lumpy gravy.
Just wanna make sure that comes up to one last simmer.
And that's the nice consistency
that I'm looking for for me.
I like mine a little bit on the thicker side.
Little stick to your ribs kind of thing.
And what I have here is I've just gotta--
I've got a Pyrex bowl and I've got a mesh strainer.
Okay, some of them are coned shape.
I like these because you get a lot more surface area.
And now that this is up to a simmer
and I know that flour is perfectly cooked in,
I'm just gonna go ahead and I'm gonna take my pan
and I'm gonna tilt it right over my bowl.
Go right into my strainer.
Go ahead and just give it a quick shake.
Okay, you can even tap the side of it a little bit.
I don't want to get in there with a spoon
and force anything through.
Because a lot of those bits can go through those holes.
So, I'm just gonna go ahead and tap it
with the side of my hand.
And then we see we've trapped all those things, those lumps
that people are so adamant about not having.
I'll take my whisk.
I get in there one more time.
Give it a final stir and there you have it.
Look at that it, it is perfect turkey gravy.
Right over the top of your stuffing, mashed potatoes.
No lumps, got the flavor, of that roasted bird.
Make your own gravy at home folks.
It's the easiest thing in the world.